I’m sitting in BeanTown,
since I desperately needed to get out of the house today,
and I have a lovely trio ensconsced behind me:
Worried, tech-inept Mother.
Cadaverously boring, condescending Educator.
Annoyed, bored, cannot-believe-the-level-of-the-shit-she-does-not-give Teen.
Mom and EDUCATOR are making Charlie Brown noises
about tests and grades and why Teen should care about grades and tests.
Annoyed Teen is annoyed.
Because really?
Learning is interesting.
Learning is wild and crazy and adventurous.
And these two are making it all about percentiles.
UGH.
For heaven’s sake,
get your kid outside,
and let her roam around.
Encourage her to write about beautiful things.
Read her poetry.
Let her loose in the library to explore books.
Math? Connect it with wonder–the golden ratio,
how it’s found in art throughout the centuries.
Get her in museums.
Connect chemistry to baking, perhaps.
Let her make a mess in order to learn; work with her hands.
Learn with your kid, Worried Mom.
Explore the world with her.
She won’t give a shit unless *you* do.
And I don’t blame her,
especially when you say things like,
“Well, the next time you see ________, she’ll be smarter.”
Um.
Yeah.
You just told your daughter that she’s stupid.
In public.
Do you realize that she might not ever get over that?
*headdesk*
Poor kid.
Poor Worried Mom.
I hope wonder finds you,
in spite of today.
Seriously.
